^ 


PROCEEDI NGS 


mil  BOARD  OF )]  DRUM!  C011SSI01RS, 


AT  A  MEETING  HELD  MAY  28,  1880^ 


ormation  of  Drainage  District  No.  1. 


REPORT   OF   THE    STATE   ENGINEER   IN   THE   MATTER   OF    A   DRAINAGE 
DISTRICT   FOR   THE   SACRAMENTO   VALLEY. 


SACRAMENTO: 

STATE  OFFICE  :  :  :  J.  D.  YOUNG,  SUPT.  STATE  PRINTING. 

1880. 


iimiiiiii».. » .^ 


PROCEEDINGS 


STATE  BOiRl  OF  DRAM! 


AT  A  MEETING  HELD  MAY  28,  1880, 


Formation  of  Drainage  District  No.  \. 


REPORT   OF   THE   STATE    ENGINEER   IN   THE    MATTER   OF   A   DRAINAGE 
DISTRICT   FOR   THE   SACRAMENTO   VALLEY. 


SACRAMENTO: 

STATE   OFFICE   :   :   :  J.  D.  YOUNG,  SUPT.  STATE   PRINTING, 

1880 


RECORD  OF  THE  PROCEEDINGS 

OF   THE 

STATE  BOARD  OF  DRAINAGE  COMMISSIONERS, 

IN  THE  MATTER  OF  ORGANIZING  DRAINAGE  DISTRICT  NO.  1 


SACRAMENTO,  CALIFORNIA, 

Friday,  May  28th,  1880,  10  o'clock  A.  M. 

The  Board  of  Drainage  Commissioners  met  at  the  office  of  the 
State  Engineer,  pursuant  to  adjournment. 

Governor  George  C.  Perkins,  President,  in  the  Chair.  Present:  J. 
W.  Shanklin,  Surveyor-General;  William  H.  Hall,  State  Engineer; 
George  B.  Cosby,  Secretary.  The  minutes  of  the  previous  meeting 
were  read  and  approved.  The  report  of  the  State  Engineer  as  to 
drainage  and  formation  of  drainage  districts,  including  the  territory 
drained  by  the  Sacramento  River  and  its  tributaries,  final  considera- 
tion of  which  was  postponed  from  May  27th,  was  again  taken  up, 
considered,  and  on  motion  of  J.  W.  Shanklin,  Surveyor-General,  was 
unanimously  amended,  so  as  to  exclude  from  the  boundaries  of  the 
drainage  district,  by  him,  the  said  State  Engineer,  recommended  to 
be  formed,  all  the  territory  therein  described,  save  and  except  that 
included  in  the  folio  wing  description;  whereupon,  it  was,  upon  motion 
of  J.  W.  Shanklin,  Surveyor-General,  unanimously  resolved,  as  fol- 
lows: 

That  whereas,  under  and  pursuant  to  an  Act  of  the  Legislature  of 
the  State  of  California,  entitled  an  "  Act  to  promote  Drainage," 
approved  April  23d,  1880,  the  State  Engineer  has  presented  a  report 
containing  the  result  of  his  investigations,  as  to  drainage,  to  date,  as 
in  said  Act  provided,  and  has  recommended  the  formation  of  a 
drainage  district,  comprising  the  territory  drained  by  the  Sacramento 
River  and  its  tributaries; 

And  whereas,  the  boundaries  of  the  district  so  recommended  to  be 
formed  have  been  amended,  altered,  and  changed  so  as  to  read  and 
include  the  territory  hereinafter  described; 


[     4      ] 

Now,  therefore,  it  is  hereby  resolved,  That  the  report  of  Wm.  EL 
Hall,  State  Engineer,  recommending  the  formation  of  a  drainage  dis- 
trict of  that  portion  of  the  State  of  California  as  described  in  said 
report,  and  amended  by  this  Board  as  to  the  boundaries  thereof,  be 
and  the  same  is  hereby  approved  and  adopted,  as  amended,  and  that 
portion  of  the  territory  of  the  State  of  California  hereinafter  described, 
being  the  territory  described  in  said  report  as  amended  by  this 
Board,  is  hereby  declared  to  be  and  the  same  is  hereby  formed  into  a 
drainage  district,  to  be  known  and  designated  as  Drainage  District 
Number  One. 

The  land  and  territory  hereby  declared  as  Drainage  District  Num- 
ber One  (1),  is  described  as  follows,  viz: 

Commencing  on  the  south  line  of  section  one  of  township  four 
north,  range  two  east,  Mount  Diablo  base  and  meridian,  at  the  quar- 
ter section  corner  in  the  county  of  Solano,  being  the  point  of  inter- 
section between  the  State  line  of  segregation  as  finally  adopted,  and 
the  westerly  boundary  of  the  Rancho  de  Los  Ulpinos ;  thence  follow- 
ing said  segregation  line  to  the  boundary  between  Solano  and  Yolo 
counties;  thence  following  said  county  boundary  line  between  the 
two  counties,  to  the  corner  common  to  Solano,  Yolo,  and  Napa  coun- 
ties; thence  following  the  boundary  line  between  Yolo  and  Napa 
counties,  and  the  boundary  line  between  Yolo  and  Lake  counties,  to 
the  corner  common  to  Lake,  Yolo,  and  Colusa  counties;  thence  fol- 
lowing the  boundary  lineibetween  Colusa  and  Lake  counties,  and  the 
boundary  line  between  Mendocino  and  Tehama  counties,  and  the 
boundary  line  between  Tehama  and  Trinity  counties,  to  the  corner 
common  to  Tehama,  Trinity,  and  Shasta  counties;  thence  following 
the  boundary  line  between  Tehama  and  Shasta  counties,  to  the  cor- 
ner common  to  Tehama,  Shasta,  and  Plumas  counties;  thence  follow- 
ing the  dividing  ridge  or  watershed  line  between  the  drainage  area  of 
the  Sacramento  Valley,  and  the  drainage  area  of  the  great  basin  of 
Nevada  in  an  easterly  and  southerly  direction,  to  the  intersection  of 
said  ridge  line,  with  the  ridge  which  divides  the  basin  of  the  Ameri- 
can River  from  the  basin  of  the  Mokelumne  River;  thence  following 
said  last  mentioned  ridge  in  a  westerly  direction  to  the  head  of  the 
ridge  which  divides  the  basin  of  the  American  from  the  basin  of  the 
Cosumnes  River;  thence  following  said  last  mentioned  ridge  line  to 
the  point  of  its  intersection  with  the  State  line  of  segregation  as 
finally  adopted  on  the  east  side  of  the  Sacramento  River;  thence  fol- 
lowing said  line  of  segregation  to  the  Cosumnes  River;  thence  down 
that  river  to  its  junction  with  the  Mokelumne  River;  thence  down 
that  river  and  its  west  fork,  to  Snodgrass  Slough ;  thence  along  said 
Slough  to  its  junction  with  Tyler  Slcrugh,  and  along  that  Slough  to 


[      5     ] 

Georgiana  Slough;  thence  along  Georgiana  Slough  to  its  junction 
with  the  Old  River  channel  of  the  Sacramento  River;  thence  down 
Old  River  channel  to  its  junction  with  Steamboat  Slough;  thence 
west  to  the  west  bank  of  the  Sacramento  River;  thence  along  the 
westerly  bank  of  the  Sacramento  River  to  a  point  on  the  Rancho  de 
los  Ulpinos,  where  the  high  land  extends  to  the  river  bank;  thence 
following  the  line  of  separation  between  the  high  and  low  land  to  the 
point  of  beginning. 

All  of  which  territory  included  in  the  description  aforesaid,  is 
hereby  declared  to  be,  and  is,  and  shall  be  a  drainage  district,  to  be 
known  and  designated  as  Drainage  District  Number  One. 

J.  W.  Shanklin,  Surveyor-General,  moved  that  the  report  of  the 
State  Engineer,  Wm.  H.  Hall,  be  spread,  as  received  by  this  Board, 
upon  the  minutes  of  this  meeting,  and  that  the  minutes,  including 
the  foregoing  amendment  to  the  report  of  the  State  Engineer,  be 
printed. 

It  was  so  ordered  by  the  Board. 

The  Board  of  Drainage  Commissioners  then  adjourned,  to  meet  at 
the  call  of  the  President. 

GEORGE  C.  PERKINS,  President, 

G.  B.  COSBY,  Secretary. 

[The  report  of  the  State  Engineer  as  received  by  the  Board  and 
ordered  printed  is  as  follows:] 


REPORT. 


Governor  GEORGE  C.  PERKINS,  President  of  the  State  Board  of  Drainage 
Commissioners,  and  to  the  State  Board  of  Drainage  Commissioners-' 

Under  and  by  virtue  of  the  law  entitled  An  Act  to  promote  Drain- 
age, it  has  become  the  duty  of  the  State  Engineer  to  report  to 
the  Board  of  which  the  Governor  is  made  President,  concerning  (1) 
"  The  results  of  his  investigations  as  to  drainage,"  and  (2)  "  The  results 
of  his  special  examinations,  made  with  reference  to  the  division  of  the 
State  into  several  drainage  districts,"  as  well  as  (3)  to  "propose 
boundaries  for  such  districts  and  recommend  their  formation."  (See 
section  two.) 

The  general  results  of  investigations  hitherto  made  by  the  State 
Engineer  into  the  matter  of  drainage  in  the  great  valleys  of  the  State, 
have  been  embodied  in  the  second  and  third  parts  of  my  report  made 
to  the  Legislature,  during  the  month  of  January  of  this  year.  That 
paper  was  prepared  in  compliance  with  instructions  incorporated  into 
the  law,  approved  March  29th,  1878,  which  created  the  office  of  State 
Engineer,  and  required  the  incumbent  thereof  to  report  in  this  con- 
nection, concerning  the  principles  which  ought  to  govern  in  the 
relief  of  rivers  when  in  flood,  in  the  improvement  of  the  large 
streams  as  navigable  channels,  and  in  the  management  or  disposal  of 
mining  detritus.  A  general  treatment  for  the  whole  field  observed 
and  studied — more  particularly  that  of  the  Sacramento  Valley — is 
given  in  the  parts  of  my  report  spoken  of,  which  are  xentitled  a 
report  upon  "  The  Drainage  of  the  Valleys  and  the  Improvement  of 
the  Navigation  of  Rivers,"  and  a  report  upon  "  The  Flow  of  Mining 
Detritus,"  respectively. 

It  is  believed  that  the  law,  already  referred  to,  which  has  called 
the  State  Drainage  Commission  into  existence,  is  based  in  a  great 
measure  upon  the  leading  conclusions  put  forth  in  these  papers;  and, 
as  preliminary  to  the  outlining  of  districts  and  the  formation  of  defi- 
nite plans  for  works,  it  is  thought  these  conclusions,  with  the  general 
treatment  of  the  problem  which  has  led  up  to  them,  constitute  a 
sufficient  ground  for  action.  As  a  compliance  with  the  first  instruc- 
tion— namely,  "  That  the  State  Engineer  shall  submit  *  *  *  a  report 
or  reports  containing  the  results  of  his  investigations  as  to  drainage  " — 


[     7     ] 

I  transmit  a  copy  of  the  special  reports  above  mentioned  as  already 
submitted  to  the  Legislature. 

Preliminary  to  the  general  designation  of  boundaries  for  a  drain- 
age district,  or  districts,  it  is  not  necessary  under  the  law,  after  what 
has  been  done,  for  one  acquainted  with  the  country,  to  make  any 
"special  examinations,"  other  than  those  which  can  be  made  upon 
maps  in  this  office  "with  reference  to  the  division  of  the  State  into 
several  drainage  districts."  In  the  first  place,  I  presume  that  it  was 
the  intention  of  the  Legislature  that  districts  should  be  formed 
only  where  a  necessity  existed  therefor.  The  State  Engineer  is 
instructed  to  " propose  boundaries  for  such  districts"  "from  time  to 
time"  only.  Now  it  is  well  understood  that  the  necessity  is  most 
apparent  in  the  Sacramento  Valley;  and,  therefore,  I  have  specially 
examined  and  studied  that  case— as  to  what  should  constitute  a  drain- 
age district  under  the  law,  and  what  territory  would  be  embraced 
in  any  district  to  be  formed  in  the  Sacramento  Valley,  to  carry  out 
the  letter  and  spirit  of  the  law — and  upon  it  I  propose  to  report  now. 

DRAINAGE   DISTRICTS. 

The  Legislature  has  authorized  the  formation  of  districts,  each  of 
which  shall  act  as  an  unit  in  the  matter  of  promoting  the  drainage 
of  its  territory,  and  has  established  a  rule  of  action  to  be  followed  in 
putting  this  provision  of  the  law  into  force.  Thus,  in  requiring  the 
State  Engineer  to,  propose  boundaries  for  drainage  districts,  it  lays 
down  the  rule  to  be  followed  by  him  in  outlining  such  tracts,  by  say- 
ing that  "  each  *  *  *  *  shall  include  a  territory  drained  by  one 
natural  system  of  drainage;"  so  that  this  officer  is  required  to  act  pri- 
marily in  the  capacity  of  an  expert  in  the  matter  of  designating  the 
several  territories  in  the  State,  each  of  which  is  drained  by  one 
natural  drainage  system. 

While  he  is  expected  to  propose  boundaries  for  districts,  it  is  only 
as  to  the  necessity  for  their  existence,  and  the  time  at  which  he  will 
recommend  their  formation,  that  he  is  left  without  a  rule  to  govern 
him;  for  the  law  distinctly  says  that  he  shall  "  propose  boundaries  for 
such  districts,"  namely:  Districts  each  of  which  includes  a  territory 
drained  by  one  natural  system  of  drainage.  The  only  points  he  has 
to  consider  then  are,  as  to  what  constitutes  such  a  territory,  and  what 
lines  bound  such  territories  in  the  region  where  it  is  reasonable  to 
suppose  the  Legislature  intended  this  law  to  apply,  or  where  there  is 
a  necessity  for  its  application;  and  that  region,  as  I  have  said  before, 
is  more  particularly,  the  Sacramento  Valley. 

The  removal  of  the  surplus  waters  of  a  region  through  the  action 
of  the  force  of  gravity  alone,  where  the  water  finds  an  escape  through 


[     8      ] 

channels  not  artificially  formed,  constitutes  natural  drainage.  Such 
drainage  is  complete  when  the  waters  have  reached  their  ultimate 
outfall  at  the  level  of  the  sea,  and  find  no  further  plane  of  inclina- 
tion along  which  to  course  under  the  influence  of  gravity.  A  drain- 
age system  is  an  aggregation  of  drains  tending  towards  a  common 
point  of  outfall,  and  whose  waters  usually  approach  that  point 
through  one  channel  common  to  all.  A  natural  drainage  system  is 
made  up  of  the  main  and  all  subsidiary  and  tributary  channels  writhin 
the  limits  of  a  watershed  area,  and  such  an  area  constitutes  "  a  ter- 
ritory drained  by  one  natural  system  of  drainage." 

Hence  the  wrhole  of  the  Sacramento  Valley,  and  the  watershed  of 
the  entire  Sacramento  River — the  main  stream  and  its  tributaries-- 
constitutes a  territory  which,  under  the  law,  the  State  Engineer  is 
obliged  to  designate  as  a  region  suitable  to  be  formed  into  a  drainage 
district. 

DRAINAGE   AND   RECLAMATION   DISTRICTS. 

It  is  well  at  this  point  to  consider  for  a  moment  the  difference 
between  a  drainage  district  and  a  reclamation  district;  seeing  that 
they  must  both  exist  under  the  order  of  things  to  be  inaugurated  by 
the  Act  to  promote  drainage. 

A  reclamation  district  is  properly  a  tract  of  land  which  may  be 
protected  from  overflow  by  one  continuous  bulwark  or  levee;  a  tract 
not  separated  or  divided  by  any  stream  which  must  be  left  open  to 
carry  away  the  waters  of  floods;'  a  tract  so  formed  topographically 
that  flood  waters  gaining  admittance  at  the  head,  or  upper  end,  must 
necessarily  spread  over  all  below,  there  being  no  main  stream  or  high 
point  of  land  to  intercept  or  divert  them;  and,  consequently,  a  tract 
which  generally  should  and  often  must  be  entirely  protected  in  order 
that  any  considerable  portion  may  be  safe  from  inundation.  For 
instance,  each  of  the  great  low-land  basins  in  the  Sacramento  Val- 
ley, together  with  the  plains  bordering  it  and  subject  to  occasional 
overflow,  constitutes  a  natural  reclamation  district;  and  also  each  of 
the  islands  lying  in  the  delta  of  the  San  Joaquin  and  Sacramento 
Rivers  should  be  regarded  in  the  same  manner.  We  consider  such  a 
tract  as  a  district,  because  all  of  its  parts*  are  interdependent  in  the 
matter  of  protection  from  overflow,  which  in  nature  may  be  the  case 
either  absolutely  or  in  a  less  and  varying  degree.  Examples  of  every 
degree  of  interdependence  may  be  found  in  the  natural  reclamation 
districts  of  the  Sacramento  Valley;  and  in  some  instances,  but  not 
frequently,  one  of  such  districts  may  be  divided  without  serious  det- 
riment to  either  part  in  a  scheme  for  reclamation. 

As  we  have  seen,  a  drainage  district  should  include  at  least  all  of  the 


[     9     ] 

territory  within  any  drainage  area  which  embraces  within  itself  the 
channels  or  routes  of  escape  for  the  waters  which  are  to  be  conducted 
away.  In  the  simplest  case  which  we  may  with  reason  depict,  where 
a  single  stream  without  tributaries  courses  through  a  valley,  with  a 
marsh  or  basin  on  each  side,  a  drainage  district,  as  here  denned,  will 
include  at  least  two  reclamation  districts.  In  the  Sacramento  Val- 
ley, while  there  should  be  but  one  drainage  district,  there  must  of 
necessity  be  ten  or  twelve  reclamation  districts. 

Aside  from  the  great  main  drainage  of  a  district,  as  here  spoken  of, 
there  must  be  drainage  also  for  the  lower  lands  of  the  several  recla- 
mation districts.  This  drainage  is  of  another  character— in  a  vary- 
ing degree  in  each  instance  —from  that  with  which  the  Act  to  promote 
drainage  proposes  to  deal;  just  as  house  drainage  and  plumbing  in  a 
city  differs  from  the  main  sewerage  system;  and  just  as  sub-drainage 
of  agricultural  lands  differs  from  the  opening  out  of  the  stream  into 
which  its  waters  are  conducted;  or,  in  the  converse  proposition  of 
irrigation,  just  as  the  distributing  and  farm  ditches  differ  from  the 
main  canal  works  of  the  system. 

To  be  completely  reclaimed  all  lands  in  a  reclamatio'n  district 
must  be  drained,  if  otherwise  too  wet  for  cultivation,  or  other  agricul- 
tural use  to  which  it  may  be  desired  to  put  them,  but  it  is  not  neces- 
sary that  all  lands  of  a  drainage  district  shall  be  reclaimed  before  we 
may  say  that  such  district  is  well  drained ;  and  yet,  before  all  or 
nearly  all  lands  in  a  drainage  district  can  be  reclaimed,  the  district, 
as  such,  must  be  well  drained.  Hence  we  have  the  word  "drainage" 
used  in  a  double  sense— as  we  apply  it  to  the  drainage  of  individual 
tracts,  without  regard  to  the  great  natural  drainage  ways,  or  as  we 
apply  it  to  the  drainage  area  of  which  such  natural  channels  consti- 
tute the  drains. 

In  the  case  of  the  reclamation  district,  we  plan  against  overflow  of 
the  lands,  with  an  eye  single  to  the  one  object  of  holding  off  the 
flood,  no  matter  what  other  tracts  it  may  cover;  the  volume  of  water, 
the  capacity  and  condition  of  the  channel  in  which  it  must  escape,  is 
not  considered. 

In  the  case  of  the  drainage  district,  we  are  to  look  upon  the  river  as 
a  sentient  being,  a  living  organism,  in  which  each  main  and  trib- 
utary channel,  with  its  floods,  is  to  be  considered  as  an  integral  part 
not  to  be  dispensed  with,  and  whose  influence  cannot  be  neglected. 
We  are  to  plan  for  the  expansion  and  adjustment  of  the  parts  of  this 
monster,  in  order  that  it  be  self-contained;  we  are  to  improve  the 
channels,  with  an  eye  single  to  the  waters  to  be  cared  for,  without 
special  regard  for  the  lands  of  any  particular  reclamation  district. 

In  the  case  of  the  reclamation  district,  we  look  upon  its  lands  and 


[   io  ] 

its  levee:  Are  the  levees  long  enough  and  high  enough  to  keep  the 
waters  off  this  tract? 

In  the  case  of  the  drainage  district,  we  contemplate  its  rivers  and 
their  waters:  Are  the  channels  of  good  regimen,  and  of  sufficient 
capacity  to  receive  and  carry  away  the  flood  waters? 

Now,  in  the  Satramento  and  San  Joaquin  Valleys,  we  have  these 
questions  to  answer.  Those  with  respect  to  drainage  districts  must 
be  responded  to  favorably — in  the  affirmative — the  channels  must 
be  of  good  regimen  and  sufficient  capacity  to  receive  and  carry  away 
the  waters  of  ordinary  floods,  before  reclamation  of  the  adjacent  low- 
lands can  ever  be  effected. 

In  addition  to  this  situation  presented  naturally,  we  have,  in  the 
Sacramento  Valley  particularly,  the  complication  brought  about  by 
the  effect  of  detritus  from  the  mines,  which  is  filling  the  main  chan- 
nels for  a  considerable  portion  of  their  length,  and  thus  destroying 
their  efficiency  for  the  whole  valley,  both  as  drains  and  navigable 
rivers. 

In  the  report  submitted  by  myself,  as  State  Engineer,  to  the  Legis- 
lature, in  January,  certain  remedies  for  these  evils  were  proposed. 
Various  methods  of  disposing  of  the  mining  detritus  were  suggested : 
preventing  it  from  entering  the  canons,  when  it  can  be  otherwise  dis- 
posed of;  storing  it  in  the  canons,  on  the  flats  at  the  mouths  of  the 
canons,  or  on  the  plains,  by  means  of  dams  and  embankments-;  and 
diverting  the  waters  carrying  it  into  the  low-land  basins. 

It  was  pointed  out  that  the  application  of  no  one  of  these 
methods  would  afford  complete  relief.  It  was  shown  that  they  must 
be  availed  of  each,  according  to  the  particular  circumstances  of  the 
case,  and  all  in  a  degree  at  least.  And  it  was  distinctly  set  forth  that 
a  systematic  treatment  of  the  drainage  ways  of  the  valley  must 
accompany  any  efforts  to  dispose  of  this  mining  detritus,  in  order 
that  the  benefits  therefrom  might  be  made  apparent. 

The  Legislature  passed  the  Act  to  promote  drainage,  popularly 
known  as  the  "  Debris  Bill,"  and  under  it,  I  presume,  all  of  the  works 
are  to  be  undertaken  which  may  be  necessary  to  accomplish  the 
desired  results. 

A   DRAINAGE   DISTRICT   FOR   THE   SACRAMENTO   VALLEY. 

I  am  clearly  of  the  opinion  that  but  one  drainage  district  can  be 
formed  in  the  Sacramento  Valley,  and  that  the  "  territory  drained  by 
one  natural  system  of  drainage"  in  this  case  comprises  all  of  the 
area  whose  waters  shed  into  its  drains. 

This  territory  may  be  described  as  follows: — 

Commencing  on  the  north  bank  of  the  Sacramento  River  at  the 


[  11  ] 

mouth  of  Montezuma  Slough,  and  opposite  the  junction  of  the  Sac- 
ramento and  San  Joaquin  Rivers,  and  running  thence  in  a  north- 
easterly direction  to  the  summit  of  the  Montezuma  Hills;  thence 
following  the  ridge  line  of  the  watershed  between  the  Sacramento 
and  the  Suisun  Valleys  in  a  northerly  and  northwesterly  direction, 
and  the  ridge  line  of  the  watershed  between  the  Putah  and  Suisun 
creeks,  and  between  the  Putah  and  Napa  creeks,  in  a  northwesterly 
direction,  and  the  ridge  line  of  the  watershed  between  the  Clear 
Lake  basin  and  that  of  Russian  River,  to  Mount  St.  John;  thence 
northerly  along  the  crest  of  the  Coast  Range  of  mountains  to  the 
divide  between  the  waters  of  Trinity  River  and  those  of  the  Sacra- 
mento River;  thence  along  said  divide  northerly  and  easterly  to 
Mount  Shasta;  thence  southerly,  easterly,  and  northerly,  along  the 
line  of  watershed  \vhich  flanks  the  drainage  area  of  Pitt  River;  and 
returning  to  the  south  again,  following  said  divide  or  watershed  line 
to  the  summit  of  Lassen's  Peak;  thence  following  the  crest  of 
the  Sierra  Nevada  Mountains  to  the  head  of  the  dividing  ridge 
between  the  basins  of  the  American  and  Mokelumne  Rivers;  thence 
westerly  down  the  said  dividing  ridge  to  the  dividing  ridge  between 
the  basins  of  the  American  and  Cosumnes  Rivers;  thence  westerly 
down  said  last  mentioned  dividing  ridge  to  the  edge  of  the  swamp  or 
overflowed  land  lying  east  of  the  Sacramento  River;  thence  follow- 
ing the  eastern  boundary  of  said  swamp  or  overflowed  land  southerly 
to  the  Mokelumne  River;  thence  down  said  river  to  its  junction  with 
the  San  Joaquin  River;  and  following  the  course  of  the  San  Joaquin 
River  to  a  point  opposite  the  place  of  beginning  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Sacramento  River. 

Including  all  of  Solano  County  which  slopes  toward  the  Sacra- 
mento River;  all  of  Napa  which  drains  into  Putah  Creek;  all  of  Lake 
which  drains  into  Putah  Creek,  Clear  Lake,  and  Cache  Creek;  all  of 
Yolo,  Colusa,  Tehama,  and  Shasta  counties;  all  of  Siskiyou  and  Las- 
sen  counties  which  drain  into  the  upper  Sacramento,  McCloud,  and 
Pitt  Rivers  ;  all  of  Plumas  and  Lassen  counties  which  drain  into 
Feather  River;  all  of  Butte,  Sutter,  and  Yuba  counties;  all  of  Sierra, 
Nevada,  and  Placer  counties  west  of  the  summit  line  of  the  Sierra 
Nevada  Mountains  before  mentioned;  all  of  El  Dorado  County  west 
of  said  summit  and  north  of  the  ridge  between  the  basins  of  the 
American  and  Mokelumne  and  American  and  Cosumnes  Rivers;  all 
of  Sacramento  County  north  of  the  ridge  line  crossing  the  plains 
from  said  mountain  ridge  to  the  swamp  land  line,  and  all  of  the 
swamp  lands  in  Sacramento  County. 


[     12    J 

RECOMMENDATION. 

Now,  therefore,  in  view  of  the  instructions  to  the  State  Engineer, 
contained  in  section  two  of  an  Act  entitled  An  Act  to  promote  drain- 
age, approved  April  23d,  1880, 1  report  that  I  have  made  such  "special 
examinations  with  reference  to  the  division  of  the  State  into  several 
drainage  districts"  as  seems  to  me  necessary  for  the  purposes  of  a 
partial  report  at  this  time  ;  and  that  I  recognize  in  the  region  whose 
outlines  have  just  been  given,  and  which  embraces  the  Sacramento 
Valley,  together  with  the  watershed  areas  of  the  Sacramento  River 
and  all  its  tributaries,  a  "territory  drained  by  one  natural  system  of 
drainage,"  and  that  as  a  consequence,  it  is  one  which  must  be  desig- 
nated by  me  as  suitable  to  compose  a  drainage  district. 

And  in  view  of  the  necessity  which  exists  hi  the  said  Sacramento 
Valley  for  immediate  action  in  the  matter  of  restraining  the  flow  of 
sands  into  its  navigable  rivers,  and  for  treating  such  rivers  for  their 
improvement,  in  order  that  drainage  may  be  promoted  and  the 
streams  saved  from  further  deterioration,  I  recommend  that  a  drain- 
age district  be  formed  in  said  Sacramento  Valley,  to  embrace  the 
region  naturally  draining  into  its  rivers,  as  before  described. 

THE   DISTRICT   PRINCIPLE. 

In  providing  for  the  formation  of  such  districts  the  Legislature  has 
recognized  the  principle  which  governs  in  the  outlining  of  sewerage 
districts  in  large  cities,  namely  :  that  there  is  a  community  of  inter- 
est, an  interdependence  between  the  land  surfaces  from  which  drain- 
age waters  are  shed  and  those  over  or  through  which  they  may  run. 

When  it  was  first  proposed  that  lot-holders  at  the  extreme  head  of 
a  valley,  where  a  drain  or  sewer  was  hardly  necessary  at  all,  and  at 
most  a  very  small  pipe  would  suffice,  should  pay  an  ad  valorem  tax 
on  their  lots  towards  the  construction  of  the  large  sewers  at  the  lower 
end  of  the  district  in  the  city,  the  idea,  doubtless,  did  not  meet  with 
favor;  and  in  new  countries  the  reasonableness  of  the  point  in  the 
case  cited  is  frequently  overlooked,  as  it  has  been  in  California. 

But  in  older  lands  this  view  is  becoming  more  and  more  accepted, 
so  that  drainage  works  for  large  areas  of  country,  as  well  as  sewer- 
age systems  for  cities,  are  constructed  by  district  cooperation, 
upon  the  principle  that  each  piece  of  property  which  contributes 
sewage  or  drainage  waters,  to  be  carried  down  and  delivered  at  the 
ultimate  outfall,  is  interested  in  the  efficiency  of  every  foot  of  sewer 
or  drain  through  which  such  sewage  or  drainage  waters  must  run 
to  reach  that  point;  and  also  upon  the  corelative  principle,  that  all 
property  thus  dependent  upon  an  indispensable  part  of  an  important 


[     13    ] 

system,  is  interested  in  the  success  of  the  works  as  a  whole,  and  hence 
should  bear  a  portion  of  the  cost  of  their  construction  and  mainte- 
nance. 

Many  cases  of  the  application  of  this  principle  in  the  ordering  of 
public  affairs  might  be  cited:  the  community  of  interest  is  recog- 
nized in  taxing  unimproved  and  unoccupied  property  to  meet  the 
cost  of  constructing  water  works,  as  is  frequently  done  by  munici- 
palities ;  and  the  operation  of  our  public  schools  depends  largely 
upon  tax  revenues,  collected  from  those  who'  have  no  possible 
concern  in  the  working  of  the  educational  system,  other  than  a 
general  interest  in  the  welfare  of  the  country,  this  latter  to  be 
advanced  by  cultivating,  at  public  expense,  the  minds  of  people  who 
otherwise  might  remain  ignorant. 

As  I  have  before  remarked,  it  seems  that  in  establishing  a  rule  for 
guidance  preliminarily,  in  the  matter  of  designating  regions  which 
might  properly  be  organized  into  drainage  districts,  the  Legislature 
has  recognized  this  principle  as  fitting,  and  directed  its  application, 
by  saying  that  each  drainage  district  as  primarily  designated  by  the 
State  Engineer,  shall  consist  of  a  territory  drained  by  one  natural 
system  of  drainage;  thus  in  effect  defining  a  drainage  district. 

In  the  primary  designation  of  districts  under  the  Act  to  promote 
drainage,  I  must  apply  this  definition  in  its  broadest  sense;  for  just 
as  soon  as  I  depart  from  such  application  of  it,  then  do  I  cut  loose 
from  the  rule,  and  the  outlining  of  a  district  becomes  a  mere  discre- 
tionary action  to  be  influenced  by  judgment  as  to  equities  or  necessi- 
ties; and,  acting  as  an  expert,  I  have  no  such  discretionary  power. 

For  instance,  it  may  be  said  that  the  Feather  River  basin  com- 
prises "a  territory  drained  by  one  natural  system  of  drainage,"  and 
hence  should  be  designated  as  a  drainage  district.  Now,  the  Feather 
River  is  a  branch  of  the  Sacramento,  emptying  into  that  stream  about 
sixty  miles  above  its  outfall  into  the  bay.  If  I  may  name  its  drainage 
area  as  a  proper  district  under  the  rule  laid  down,  so  might  I  just  as 
well  name  the  country  drained  by  one  of  its  tributaries — the  Bear  River, 
for  instance— and  then  a  tributary  of  that  smaller  stream  might  with 
equal  reason  be  selected,  and  so  on  down,  until  I  would  find  myself 
designating  the  most  restricted  valley  with  a  single  rill  running 
through  it,  as  "a  territory  drained  by  one  natural  system  of  drainage." 

From  what  has  preceded,  the  reason  why  such  a  tributary  drainage 
area  can  not  be  regarded  as  "a  territory  drained  by  one  natural  sys- 
tem of  drainage"  should  be  apparent:  until  the  ultimate  outfall,  at 
tide  water  elevation,  is  reached,  complete  drainage  is  not  accom- 
plished; and  a  region  which  does  not  embrace  the  main  stream  and 


C     14    ] 

its  tributaries  to  this  outfall,  is  not  such  an  one  as  is  denned  in  the 
Act,  and  to  be  pointed  out  by  the  State  Engineer. 

Moreover,  this  modification  of  the  idea  of  what  constitutes  a  natu- 
ral drainage  district,  would  be  exceedingly  difficult  to  apply  in  prac- 
tice in  the  Sacramento  Valley;  for,  on  attempting  to  subdivide  the 
valley  into  drainage  districts,  great  difficulty  in  establishing  lines  of 
division  upon  any  principle  whatever  will  be  found,  as  a  study  of  the 
topography  of  the  region  will  immediately  convince  any  one.  For 
instance,  if  there  were  well  denned  watershed  lines  between  natural 
drainage  ways,  district  boundaries  might  follow  such  lines.  On  the 
contrary,  however,  all  through  the  valley  the  main  streams  run  upon 
ridges,  and  a  hollow  or  basin  occupies  the  space  between  them.  This 
is  noticeably  the  case  between  the  Feather  and  the  Sacramento,  where 
it  would  be  absolutely  impossible  to  draw  a  line  between  two  dis- 
tricts which  could  be  maintained  upon  any  ground,  other  than  that 
of  a  simple  arbitrary  ruling. 

THE   INTENT   OF   THE   LAW. 

Aside  from  the  matter  of  principle  involved  in  the  rule  of  action 
laid  down  to  govern  in  the  designation  of  drainage  districts,  there  is 
the  intent  of  the  law  with  reference  to  the  work  to  be  done,  and  the 
useful  end  to  be  attained,  which  must  be  subserved. 

So  far  as  the  Sacramento  Valley  proper  is  concerned,  there  could 
be  no  material  subdivision  of  it,  in  the  matter  of  forming  drainage 
districts,  without  seriously  affecting  the  working  of  the  statute  in  this 
regard.  To  consider  this  matter  one  must  have  a  clear  understand- 
ing of  the  objects  of  the  measure,  and  these,  in  their  turn,  rest  upon 
the  necessities  and  possibilities  in  the  field  for  its  application. 

Now  there  exists  a  necessity  for  a  systematic  and  sustained  treat- 
ment of  the  drains  of  the  Sacramento  Valley  throughout  their 
courses  in  the  valley  proper,  in  order  that  the  evils  complained  of — 
the  deterioration  of  the  rivers  as  water-carrying  and  navigable  chan- 
nels, and  the  damage  to  land  from  the  effects  of  the  flow  of  mining 
tailings — may  be  corrected. 

As  I  have  endeavored  to  show  in  my  report  to  the  Legislature,  the 
Sacramento  below  the  mouth  of  the  Feather  River,  never  can  be 
brought  back  to  its  former  comparatively  useful  and  efficient  condi- 
tion (much  less  improved  beyond  that  stage,  as  it  should  be),  until 
there  is  a  simultaneous  management  of  the  floods  of  the  Feather  and 
the  Upper  Sacramento",  above  that  point. 

And  so,  there  can  be  no  management  of  the  Sacramento  River 
below  any  point — the  mouth  of  Butte  Slough,  for  instance — without 


[     15    ] 

a  control  and  improvement  of  that  river  above,  to  the  highest  point 
where  its  waters  escape  into  the  basins  which  flank  it. 

In  like  manner,  there  can  be  no  hope  of  successfully  treating  the 
river  as  a  flood-carrying  channel  in  its  upper  courses,  without,  at  the 
same  time,  improving  it  below,  unless  we  deliberately  relieve  the 
higher  regions  by  precipitating  the  floods  upon  those  lower  down 
stream.  And  this  course  would  bring  its  own  retribution;  for  lower 
obstructions  will  soon  make  themselves  felt  in  their  effects  up  stream, 
both  as  to  silting  up  of  beds  and  forcing  the  general  spread  of  inun- 
dations— results  destructive  teethe  navigable  and  other  valuable  quali- 
ties of  the  channels. 

Hence  there  exists  a  necessity  for  a  treatment  of  the  Sacramento 
River  from  the  highest  point  where  its  floods  may  escape  from  their 
proper  channel  to  the  ultimate  outfall  at  tide  level  in  the  bay. 

Recognizing  such  necessity  in  this  and  other  similar  cases,  the 
Legislature  passed  the  Act  to  promote  drainage,  intending,  as  I 
believe,  to  provide  for  the  oonstruction  and  maintenance  of  works 
that  will  (1)  protect  property  from  damage  likely  to  be  occasioned 
by  the  further  deposit  of  mining  tailings  in  the  streams,  and  by  the 
movement  and  effect  of  the  detritus  already  in  their  beds;  that  will 
(2)  protect  the  river  channels — particularly  those  which  are  or  may 
readily  be  made  navigable — from  further  damage;  and  that  will  (3) 
result  in  the  improvement  of  these  rivers  as  water-carrying  and 
navigable  streams.  This  intention  is  made  apparent,  not  only  by 
the  evident  recognition  of  the  necessities  of  the  case,  as  evidenced 
by  the  passage  of  the  Act,  taken  as  a  whole,  but  by  the  several  speci- 
fications of  the  scope  and  nature  of  the  work  contemplated,  as  set 
forth  in  various  sections  thereof. 

It  being  the  case  that  the  Legislature  contemplated  and  desired 
such  results,  it  would  not  be  affording  a  proper  opportunity  for  the 
execution  of  this  law  to  make  any  material  subdivision  of  the  valley 
proper  in  the  formation  of  districts;  for  I  hold  that  to  accomplish  the 
results  aimed  at,  the  Sacramento  River  from  Red  Bluff  or  Tehama  to 
the  Suisun  Bay,  and  the  Feather  River  from  Oroville  to  its  mouth, 
should  be  under  one  control;  that  they  must  be  improved  as  flood- 
carrying  channels,  and  maintained  as  such  under  the  one  direction. 
It  has  been  the  fatal  flaw  in  all  dealings  with  these  rivers  that  they 
have  been  desultory,  unsystematic,  piece-meal.  It  was  the  burden  of 
my  recommendation  to  the  Legislature  that  this  ordering  of 
things  should  be  remedied;  and,  as  I  understand,  the  Act  to  promote 
drainage  has  been  passed  in  accordance  with  this  recommendation, 
and  means  have  been  provided  to  carry  forward  the  work  necessary 
to  manage  the  debris  and  improve  these  streams.  This  being  the 


[     16    ] 

case,  there  can  be  only  one  district  in  the  Sacramento  Valley,  and  it 
must  embrace  at  least  all  the  territory  in  the  valley  and  depend- 
ent upon  the  rivers,  between  the  points  above  mentioned. 

With  this  exception,  namely— that  the  territory  near  the  mouth  of 
the  Sacramento,  lying  between  it  and  the  San  Joaquin  River,  and  in 
part  subjected  to  the  influence  of  the  floods  from  both  rivers,  or  their 
tributaries,  and  not  distinctly  drained  by  either,  but  which  has  been 
included  in  the  district  heretofore  outlined,  might  with  propriety  be 
set  off  into  a  district  separate  from  either  that  of  the  Sacramento  or 
that  of  the  San  Joaquin;  for  this  territory,  comprising  several  low 
islands,  is  in  the  common  delta  of  the  two  rivers,  and  cannot,  strictly 
speaking,  be  ranked  as  exclusively  in  the  valley  of  either  one. 

AMENDING   THE   REPORT   OF   THE   STATE   ENGINEER. 

But  though  any  subdivision  of  the  Sacramento  Valley  proper  is 
inadmissible  in  the  matter  of  forming  drainage  districts,  that  is  to 
say,  although  there  can  be  but  one  district  in  that  valley,  as  I  believe, 
which  will  fulfill  the  idea  embodied  in  the  law,  render  possible  the 
success  of  the  work,  and  thus  carry  out  the  intent  of  the  law  making 
power,  I  am  free  to  admit  that  there  are  parts  of  the  valley— and 
more  particularly  are  there  large  portions  of  the  drainage  area  trib- 
utary to  the  Sacramento  River  and  the  valley  proper — which  are 
but  remotely  interested  in  the  work  to  be  undertaken,  as  compared 
to  other  portions  of  similar  character.  But  from  this  point  of  view, 
the  question  of  district  boundaries  takes  a  different  aspect. 

Should  the  State  Drainage  Commission  decide  that  it  has  author- 
ity to  amend  my  reports  concerning  the  outlines  of  drainage  districts, 
otherwise  than  upon  the  facts  in  each  case — as  to  whether  I  have 
properly  designated  the  "  territory  drained  by  one  natural  system  of 
drainage,"  or  not — then  its  action,  presumably,  will  be  governed  by 
considerations  of  equity;  and,  as  near  as  may  be,  those  regions  which, 
from  the  point  of  view  usually  taken  in  California,  have  no  more 
interest  in  the  success  of  the  works  contemplated  than  any  remote 
part  of  the  State,  not  in  the  drainage  area,  will  be  excluded  from  the 
drainage  district. 

As  an  engineer,  in  this  case,  I  have  already  performed  my  duty 
under  the  law,  by  pointing  out  the  boundaries  of  the  Sacramento 
drainage  area— the  "  territory  drained  by  one  natural  system  of  drain- 
age "  in  the  Sacramento  Valley.  And  now  if  the  Commission  decides 
that  it  will  amend  my  report,  as  I  have  suggested  it  might  deem 
proper,  I  will,  as  a  member  thereof,  consider  the  other  aspects  of  the 
matter,  and  to  this  end  I  respectfully  call  attention  to  the  following 
points: 


C  17  ] 

THE  INTERESTS  INVOLVED. 

Aside  from  the  general  interest  on  the  principle  heretofore 
mentioned,  which  all  residents  and  owners  of  property  within  a 
drainage  area  should  have  in  the  development  and  maintenance  of 
its  drainage-ways — the  main  river  and  its  tributaries — certain  sections 
of  country  will  of  course  be  particularly  affected  by  the  improvement 
of  the  streams  as  flood-carrying  and  navigable  channels. 

All  of  the  region  whose  produce  and  supplies  might  be  transported 
advantageously  by  water  is  directly  interested  in  the  improvement 
and  maintenance  of  the  navigable  stream  in  its  drainage  area;  for 
water  carriage  is  the  cheapest  of  all  transportation,  and  is  the  great  . 
regulator  of  railway  rates. 

All  of  the  area  whose  lands  might  be  inundated,  or  whose  commu- 
nication might  be  cut  off  in  time  of  flood,  or  which  depends,  for  its 
trade,  upon  adjacent  regions  thus  unfortunate,  is  interested  in  the 
development  of  a  drainage  system  which  will  render  possible  the 
prevention  of  such  overflow. 

Both  of  these  motives  for  immediate  interest  are  warranted  by 
existing  facts  over  a  large  portion  of  the  Sacramento  Valley.  The 
direct  interest  in  the  navigation  of  the  river  is  even  more  widespread 
within  its  drainage  area;  and  there  is  also  the  general,  as  well  as 
direct,  interest  in  the  prosperity  of  the  mining  industries,  which,  of 
course,  finds  place  in  a  considerable  portion  of  the  region  spoken  of: 

The  prosperity  of  the  gravel  mining  interest,  from  the  point  of 
view  of  the  Act  to  promote  drainage,  must  rest  upon  a  continuation 
of  mining  operations  without  resulting  damage  to  the  public  streams 
or  private  property.  That  interest,  presumably,  affects  the  mine 
owner,  his  employes,  trade  people,  merchants,  and  all  dependent 
upon  them  for  employment  or  trade. 

There  are,  then,  in  the  Sacramento  Valley  and  its  drainage  area, 
three  great  classes  more  directly  to  be  affected  by  the  result  of  the 
works  contemplated  under  the  Act  mentioned  : 

First — Those  interested  in  the  preservation,  improvement,  and 
maintenance  of  the  navigation  of  the  rivers. 

Second — Those  interested  in  the  prevention  of  widespread  and  pro- 
longed inundations,  or  the  prevention  of  overflow  in  any  particular 
quarter. 

Ikird — Those  interested  in  the  prosperity  of  the  mines  whose  work- 
ing causes  damage,  and  in  the  prevention  of  damage  to  private  prop- 
erty and  public  channels. 

Putting  out  of  view  the  primary  principle  embodied  in  the  law — 
the  idea  that  all  within  the  drainage  area  of  a  river  are  equally  inter- 
3 


[    18    ] 

ested  in  its  preservation  and  improvement,  except  those  deriving  a 
direct  substantial  gain  or  prevented  from  suffering  an  immediate 
pecuniary  loss,  which  exceptions  are  provided  for  in  the  bill — we  may 
conclude  that  the  lines  within  which  lie  the  regions  interested,  as 
above,  in  the  navigation  of  the  rivers,  the  prevention  of  inundations, 
the  prosperity  of  mining  interests  and  the  prevention  of  damage  from 
the  working  of  the  mines,  will  constitute  the  proper  boundaries  for  a 
drainage  district  in  the  Sacramento  Valley. 

At  the  outset  of  an  endeavor  to  make  some  suggestions  whereby 
these,  lines  may  be  recognized,  it  may  as  well  be  admitted  that  it  is 
not  possible  to  fix  upon  them  with  any  considerable  degree  of  exacti- 
tude, except  that  it  be  attempted  after  a  most  thorough  examination 
into  the  conditions  and  movements  of  trade  in  the  valley,  and  be 
based  upon  a  graded  rule  as  to  degree  of  interest.  In  other  words,  a 
district  can  not  be  outlined  within  which  it  may  be  said  that  all  are 
equally  interested  in  the  contemplated  works  and  the  results  thereof. 
But  then,  can  this  be  said  of  any  public  work  ?  Can  it  be  said  that 
all  parts  of  the  State  are  equally  interested  in  the  prosecution  of  any 
public  work  for  which  they  are  taxed?  Can  it  be  said  that  all  lands 
in  any  reclamation  district  have  been,  or  can  by  any  possibility,  be 
equally  benefited  by  the  construction  of  its  defensive  works,  or  that 
they  have  been  improved  just  to  the  amount  of  their  assessment, 
though  based  upon  benefits  according  to  the  judgment  of  some  fair 
and  skillful  referee? 

It  is  not  given  to  human  wisdom  to  adjust  such  matters  without 
some  error,  and  the  different  minds  of  men  influenced  by  views  from 
different  standpoints  according  to  local  interests  or  mode  of  thought, 
make  such  discrepancies  appear  far  more  flagrant  than  they  really 
are,  or  may  perhaps  actually  twist  the  result  into  an  apparent  injustice 
in  the  direction  opposite  to  that  which  it  really  is.  And  thus  it  is 
not  to  be  expected  that  this  duty  of  outlining  a  district  to  be  taxed 
for  the  preservation,  improvement,  and  maintenance  of  these  rivers, 
and  the  disposal  of  mining  detritus,  can  be  performed  in  a  manner 
which  will  be,  or  even,  to  many  minds,  seem  to  be,  equitable  and  just. 

SOME   PROVISIONS   OF   THE   DRAINAGE   ACT. 

The  Ad  to  promote  drainage  has  provided  four  sources  of  revenue 
from  which  funds  are  to  be  derived  for  the  construction,  mainte- 
nance, and  management  of  the  works  contemplated  and  necessary: 

First — A  general  State  tax  levy  of  "  one  twentieth  of  one  per  cent, 
on  all  taxable  property  in  the  State;"  the  revenue  from  which  to 
constitute  a  State  Drainage  Construction  Fund.  The  moneys  of  this 
fund  are  to  be  expended  wherever  necessary  "  within  the  drainage 


[     19     ] 

districts  formed,"  so  that  they  are  presumably  not  to  be  devoted 
exclusively  to  purely  local  work,  but  are  in  part  available  for  work 
in  any  other  drainage  district  than  that  of  the  Sacramento  Valley, 
when  such  other  shall  be  formed.  (See  Section  24.) 

Second — A  district  tax  of  "one  twentieth  of  one  percent"  on  all 
the  property  in  the  district,"  the  revenue  from  which  to  constitute  a 
District  Construction  Fund  for  the  district  assessed.  The  moneys  of 
each  such  fund  are  to  be  expended  wherever  necessary,  within  the 
district  to  which  it  belongs.  (See  Sections  15  and  16.) 

Third — All  lands  reclaimed,  as  the  result  of  the  work  to  be  carried 
forward  under  the  Act,  are  to  be  assessed  the  value  of  their  reclama- 
tion, to  an  amount  not  in  excess  of  three  dollars  per  acre,  and  the 
revenue  thus  obtained  is  to  go  into  the  construction  fund  of  the  dis- 
trict in  which  said  lands  are  situated.  (See  Sections  21,  22,  and  23.) 

Fourth — The  owners  of  "all  hydraulic  mines,  and  all  mines  wash- 
ing earth  or  ores  with  water  running  into  a  district,"  are  required 
to  pay  annually  an  assessment  of  "one  half  of  one  cent  for  each 
miner's  inch  of  water  of  each  twenty-four  hours'  run,  used  during 
such  year,"  which  money  is  to  go  into  the  construction  fund  of  the 
district  in  or  into  which  such  water  runs.  (See  Sections  19  and  20.) 

All  the  moneys  raised  under  the  provisions  of  the  Act  are  to  be 
"  used  exclusively  for  the  construction  of  dams  for  impounding  debris 
from  the  mines"  within  any  district,  or  whose  waters  run  into  any 
district,  "and  for  the  improvement  and  ratification"  [rectification,] 
of  river  channels  in  which  said  debris  flows.  (See  Section  24.) 

THE   FLOW   OF   MINING  DETRITUS — SACRAMENTO   VALLEY. 

Mining  debris  flows  into  the  American  River  and  is  thus  carried 
into  the  lower  Sacramento  River,  and  although  there  is  not  visible 
any  considerable  damage,  of  the  character  to  be  seen  along  the  Bear 
and  Yuba  rivers,  to  private  property,  from  the  effects  of  the  detritus 
of  the  American,  yet  has  it  done  as  much,  if  not  more,  harm  to  the 
general  interest  of  the  State  and  of  the  Sacramento  Valley,  than  that 
of  any  other  stream.  Its  sands  are  about  all  carried  into  the  main 
channel  of  the  great  navigable  river  of  the  State,  and  this  channel 
is  being  rapidly  destroyed,  to  the  detriment  of  the  State  at  large,  the 
whole  Sacramento  Valley  more  particularly,  and  at  loss  to  the  owners 
of  low  lands  and  property  in  that  valley  and  along  the  river,  which 
are  rendered  more  difficult  of  reclamation  and  protection. 

Northward  from  the  American  River,  on  the  east  side  of  the  val- 
ley, all  of  the  principal  streams  as  far  as  Chico  Creek  bring  mining 
detritus  from  the  mountains,  in  quantities  readily  appreciable,  and 
most  of  them  spread  a  large  portion  of  their  sediments  over  lands 


[    20    ] 

adjacent  to  their  several  courses.  Thus,  where  the  greatest  show 
of  damage  is  apparent,  the  least  real  harm  may  have  been  done  to 
the  general  interest  of  the  State  and  of  the  valley  at  large ;  for 
although  the  destruction  of  a  few  thousand  acres  of  fine  farming 
land  may  be  a  death  blow  to  the  fortunes  of  the  individual  owners 
thereof,  and  an  indirect  loss  to  the  community,  it.  is  as  nothing  for 
the  State  or  the  valley  at  large  to  consider,  when  compared  to  the 
destruction  of  the  Sacramento  and  Feather  Rivers  as  navigable  and 
flood-carrying  channels.  I  make  these  remarks  to  emphasize  the 
mention  made  of  the  influence  of  the  American  River  detritus, 
which,  though  less  apparent  to  the  casual  observer  than  that  of  the 
Yuba  or  the  Bear,  is  in  reality  of  equal  if  not  greater  moment  than 
that  of  either  of  the  other  streams,  so  far  as  public  welfare  is 
concerned;  for  while  a  large  part  of  the  Yuba  and  Bear  River  sands 
have  found  and  still  do  find  a  resting  place  upon  the  plains  and 
bottom  lands,  about  all  of  the  American  River  detritus  is  forced  into 
the  main  river  of  the  valley,  at  a  most  important  point  in  its  course. 

The  streams  from  Chico  Creek  northward  to  the  Sacramento  River 
do  not,  so  far  as- 1  am  informed,  transport  any  mining  detritus. 

The  Sacramento  River  brings  sands  and  slums  from  the  mines 
of  Shasta  county,  in  small  quantity  to  be  sure,  as  compared  with 
that  transported  by  the  waters  of  many  other  streams  entering  the 
valley,  but  still  in  amounts  sufficient  to  discolor  the  waters  much 
more  than  they  formerly  were,  as  I  am  informed,  and  the  amount 
of  sand  which  is  rolled  along  the  bottom  of  the  stream  at  time 
of  flood  may  be  very  great. 

THE    INTEREST    IN    NAVIGATION. 

Concerning  the  scope  of  country  interested  in  the  preservation  and 
improvement  of  the  rivers  of  the  State,  and  more  particularly  those 
of  the  Sacramento  Valley,  I  beg  leave  to  call  your  attention  to  the 
following  extracts  from  the  report  of  the  Honorable  B.  F.  Tuttle, 
Commissioner  of  Transportation  for  the  years  eighteen  hundred  and 
seventy-seven  and  eighteen  hundred  and  seventy-eight.  At  page  49, 
under  the  heading  of  "Navigable  Waters  in  California  and  their 
Influence  on  Rates  of  Transportation,"  Mr.  Tuttle  s;iys: 

Fortunately  for  this  State,  nature  has  been  more  liberal  in  providing  water-way?  for  the  free 
use  of  our  people,  for  transportation  purposes,  than  in  main-  other  portions  of  our  common 
country.  Following  are  some  statistics  of  the  tonnage  which  is  employed  upon  the  inland 
naviga'ble  waters  ami  in  the  coast  trade,  which  will  serve  to  show  what'  influences  operate  to 
keep  the  cost  of  transporting  the  products  of  the  agricultural  portion  of  the  State  to  market  at 
low  rates.  Moreover,  they  will  also  show  that  private  capital  lias  not  hesitated  to  seek  invest- 
ment in  that  ?]>ecies  of  property.  Such  being  the  fact,  the  State,  cannot  be  too  careful  in  guard- 
ing against  the  obstruction  of  its  great  water-ways,  and  every  legitimate  effort  should  be  made 
not  only  to  preserve  but  also  to  improve  their  navigation,  as  the  sure  and  safe  method  of  pro- 
tecting her  producers  from  high  rates  for  transjwrtation.  *  *  *  *  *  *  A  judicious 
system  of  improvement  of  the  inland  waters  of  this  State  would  do  more  to  keep  the  cost  of 


[    21     ] 

transporting  its  products  to  market  at  low  rates  than  scores  of  penal  enactments  and  inflexible 
tariffs  for  the  regulation  of  charges  by  transportation  companies.  The  favored  location  of  most 
of  our  agricultural  and  timber  lands  renders  extortionate  rates  impossible,  if  the  navigable 
waters  of  the  State  are  cared  for  as  their  importance  warrants. 

The  following  places  on  the  California  Pacific  Railroad,  from  their  proximity  to  navigable 
waters,  are  enabled  to  ship  their  freights  at  rates  fixed  by  the  cost  of  water  transportation: 
Xnpa,  Suscol,  Vallejo,  Benicia,  Bridgeport,  Suisun,  Elmira,  Batavia,  and  Dixon. 

The  Northern  Railway,  located  on  the  west  side  of  the  Sacramento  River,  and  completed  as 
far  up  as  Willows,  competes  for  the  business  at  the  following  places  located  on  the  river: 
Knight's  Landing.  Elk  Horn,  Monument.  Bostwick's  Ranch,  Smith's  Ferry,  Three  Rivers,  Col- 
grove's,  Poker  Bend.  Mosquito  Ranch,  George  Howell's,  Big  Orchard,  Minis  Ranch,  Big  Eddy, 
Dry  Slough.  Budd's  Ranch.  James  Powell's.  "Nordyke's,  Perdew's,  Eddy's,  Grimes',  James  Wil- 
son's. Twenty-mile  Bar,  Grand  Island  Mill.  Sycamore,  Meridian,  Moore's  Ferry,  Butte  Creek, 
Col usa.  Sherman's,  Randall's,  Reynolds'.  Nine-mile  House,  Manhattan,  Boggs',  Princeton,  Butte 
City.  Call's  Ranch,  and  other  points  on  sloughs  leading  off  from  the  river. 

The  tariff  on  the  Central  Pacific  system  is  influenced  by  the  Sacramento  River,  above  Jacinto, 
at  Hite's,  Parrott's.  Dayton.  Monroeville,  Reade's  Landing,  Chico,  BidwelPs,  Walsh's,  and  other 
points  as  far  north  as  Red  Bluff,  and  as  far  south  as  Firebaugh's  Ferry  in  the  San  Joaquin  Val- 
ley, including  Hill's  Ferry,  Salt  Slough,  Grayson,  San  Joaquin  City,  Point  of  Timber,  Antioch, 
New  Yoit,  Pittsburg,  Pacheco,  Martinez,  and  other  points  down  to  Oakland  and  south  to  San 
Jose.  On  the  Northern  Division  of  the  Southern  Pacific  Railroad,  similar  examples  might  be 
given. 

According  to  this  report  the  river  steamers,  sixty  in  number,  in 
constant  or  occasional  use  on  these  waters,  have  a  total  tonnage  of 
ten  thousand  nine  hundred  and  ninety  tons,  and  the  forty  barges,  ten 
thousand  six  hundred  and  seventy-three  tons. 

At  page  54, 1  find,  after  certain  tabular  statistics,  of  which  the  above 
is  a  summary,  so  far  as  they  apply  to  river  steamers  and  barges,  the 
following: 

It  will  be  seen  by  the  foregoing  that  the  water-craft,  engaged  on  our  inland  waters  and  along 
the  coast,  comprises  a  very  important  part  of  the  total  of  the  transportation  facilities  of  the 
State. 

As  a  rule  no  railroad  can  supersede  transportation  by  water,  unless  it  can  perform  the  like 
service  more  cheaply  and  advantageously;  and  when  this  happens,  it  follows  that  the  shipper 
reaps  the  benefit.  'No  one  at  this  time  would  advocate  a  statutory  prohibition  of  competition, 
although  that  is  not  wholly  free  from  irritation,  by  producing  "  discrimination." 

It  has  been  suggested  and  recommended  that  competition  in  this  State  be  fostered,  even  by 
the  establishment  and  maintenance  of  river  and  ocean  lines  of  steamers,  with  rates  fixed  by  the 
State,  and  that  State  aid  be  given  to  maintain  such  rates  when  not  remunerative. 

At  page  58,  under  the  head  of  "  Railroad  Monopoly,"  the  Honorable 
Commissioner  sets  forth  very  clearly  the  value  of  the  navigable 
streams  to  the  State  at  large,  and  more  particularly  to  the  Sacra- 
mento and  San  Joaquin  Valleys,  in  the  following  words: 

In  this  State,  with  few  exceptions,  one  single  corporation  has  undertaken  to  supply  railroad 
facilities  for  the  whole  people.  In  doing  this,  lines  of  railroad  have  been  .projected  and  con- 
structed through  districts  of  country  offering  few  inducements  for  profitable  traffic.  These  lines 
traverse  the  principal  valleys  through  which  run  also  the  two  great  water-courses  of  the  State. 
They  also  skirt  the  great  bays  and  estuaries  leading  into  rich  interior  valleys.  Bordering  upon, 
and  adja.ent  to  these  inland  water-ways,  extending  back  for  a  distance  of  from  five  to  fifteen 
miles,  lies  the  greater  part  of  the  productive  portion  of  California.  The  same  mav  also  be  said 
of  the  agricultural  land  along  the  coast,  the  products  of  which  find  their  way  to  market  upon 
the  ocean.  Upon  these  water-ways  ply  every  species  of  steam  and  sail-craft  adapted  to  their 
navigation,  and  it  is  not  an  overestimate  to  say  that  three  fourths  of  the  agricultural,  and  nine 
tenths  of  the  forest  products,  reach  the  market  independent  of  the  railroads,  or,  in  other  words, 
the  rates  for  transporting  them  are  determined  by  the  facilities  afforded  by  these  means  of  trans- 
portation. 

If  these  water  facilities  did  not  exist  the  railroads  would  indeed  have  a  perfect  monopoly  of 
the  carrying  trade.  With  these  agencies,  however,  effectively  preserved,  offering  as  they  do, 
opportunities  for  profitable  traffic  to  the  water-craft,  so  far  as  the  carriage  of  the  products  o"f  the 
soil  to  the  general  markets  and  of  supplies  to  the  interior  is  concerned,  there  is  not  much  to  fear 
from  railroad  monopoly. 


[     22    ] 

To  illustrate  the  effect  on  local  railroad  rates  of  water  competition 
on  our  navigable  rivers,  the  following  example  is  given  at  page  61  of 
the  Commissioner's  report: 

To  illustrate  this  subject,  take  a  special  case :  San  Francisco  and  Sacramento  are  connected 
by  navigable  waters,  and  in  the  exchange  of  commodities  between  the  two  cities  they  have 
always  the  benefit  of  cheap  transportation.  A  railroad  one  hundred  and  fifty-one  miles  in  length 
connects  them,  and  passing  through  a  number  of  interior  towns  heretofore  having  imperfect 
inter-communication.  By  rail  one  of  these  places  (we  will  call  it  Gait)  is  located  twenty- 
seven  miles  from  Sacramento  and  one  hundred  and  twenty:four  miles  from  San  Francisco. 
How  has  it  been  affected  by  the  construction  of  the  road?  Before  its  construction  freight  from 
San  Francisco  destined  for  Gait  was  shipped  to  Sacramento  by  water,  thence  by  wagon  to  Gait. 
Since  the  completion  of  the  road  there  are  two  routes  to  Gait  from  San  Francisco — one  by  rail 
direct,  the  other  by  water  navigation  to  Sacramento,  thence  by  rail.  Taking  the  water  route, 
the  rate  for  shipping  to  Gait  is  found,  by  adding  to  the  water  rate  from  San  Francisco  to  Sacra- 
mento, the  rail  rate  from  Sacramento  to  Gait.  The  latter  rate  is  much  below  the  former  rate 
charged  by  wagon,  and  to  the  extent  of  this  difference  the  shipper  at  Gait  has  been  benefited 
by  tfhe  building  of  the  road,  not  to  mention  the  greater  convenience  and  saving  in  time,  of 
which  he  now  receives  the  benefit. 

There  would  be  no  complaint  if  the  road  terminated  at  Gait,  but  a  new  route  having  been 
opened  to  Gait  direct  from  San  Francisco,  one  hundred  and  twenty-four  miles,  gives  rise  to  all 
the  trouble.  The  railroad  is  obliged  to  carry  freight  from  San  Francisco  to  Sacramento  via  Gait 
at  the  low  water  rate,  which  is  below  the  average  cost  of  railroad  transportation  ;  but  if  it  derives 
a  small  profit  from  this  source,  it  is  enabled  to  make  a  reduction  in  rates  between  San  Francisco 
and  Gait  direct,  and  between  Sacramento  and  Gait.  It  is  obliged,  however,  to  charge  the  shipper 
at  Gait  more  per  ton  per  mile  for  the  distance  of  one  hundred  and  twenty-four  miles,  than  is 
charged  per  ton  per  mile  to  Sacramento,  but  the  total  charge  can  in  no  case  exceed  the  sum  of 
the  water  and  rail  rate  from  San  Francisco  to  Gait  via  Sacramento,  else  the  latter  would  be  the 
preferred  route.  It  cannot  be  contended  that  it  is  unjust  to  the  shipper  at  Gait  because  he 
is  charged  more  proportionately  than  the  shipper  at  Sacramento,  who  always  had  the  benefit  of 
the  water  rate.  To  do  so  would  be  to  compel  common  carriers  to  expend  their  money  in  over- 
coming natural  obstacles,  and  in  placing  the  benefits  arising  therefrom  at  the  disposal  of  those 
less  favorably  situated. 


Railroads  cannot  successfully  compete  in  the  transportation  of  freights  with  carriers  on  navi- 

slement  utilized  by 
is  compelled  to  make  a  heavy  expenditure  before  he  can  move  a  bale  of  goods. 


gable  waters.     The  principal  element  utilized  by  the  latter  costs  them  nothing,  while  the  forme 


And  still  again,  at  page  75,  Mr.  Tuttle  has,  in  conclusion,  summed 
up  his  estimate  of  the  importance  of  these  navigable  streams,  as  fol- 
lows: 

The  statistics  relative  to  our  inland  commerce,  hereinbefore  presented,  will  serve  to  demon- 
strate the  urgent  necessity  in  the  interest  of  commerce,  as  well  as  of  nearly  all  other  industrial 
pursuits,  of  preserving  and  improving  the  navigable  waters  of  the  State.  This  is  a  subject 
which  the  Legislature  can  take  cognizance  of,  and  the  attention  of  that  department  of  the 
government  is  directed  to  its  consideration. 

GENERAL    DEDUCTIONS. 

First — The  competition,  based  upon  transportation  by  water,  constitutes  a  controlling  factor 
in  regulating  railroad  rates  on  freight,  and  it  should  be  given  free  scope. 

Second — It  is  of  the  gravest  importance  that  the  extensive  water-ways  of  the  State  should  be 
kept  open  for  the  public»use ;  and  their  improvement  demands  governmental  .care  and  super- 
vision. 

MODIFICATION   OF    REPORT   SUGGESTED. 

I  shall  not  attempt  to  designate  the  exact  limits  to  which  the  Sac- 
ramento Drainage  District  should  reach  in  view  of  the  considerations 
just  mentioned,  but  rather  to  make  certain  illustrations  of  the  modi- 
fications of  the  district  bounds  from  the  limits  of  the  natural  drain- 
age area,  which  may  with  propriety  be  made  in  case  the  Commission 
decides  to  be  governed  in  its  action  by  what  may  appear  to  be  a  more 
equitable  distribution  of  the  burdens  of  taxation  than  could  be 
effected  by  embracing  the  whole  watershed  area  within  the  district. 


[     23    ] 

In  the  first  place,  I  suppose  it  will  be  admitted  without  question, 
that  all  lands  and  property  threatened  with  overflow,  or  which  have 
their  communications  occasionally  cut  off  through  being  surrounded 
by  overflowed  tracts,  all  marginal  river  lands,  low  basin  lands,  tule 
swamps  and  islands  in  the  Sacramento  Valley,  are  interested  in  the 
preservation  and  improvement  of  the  Sacramento  and  Feather  Riv- 
ers as  flood-carrying  channels.  For  although  the  work  of  improve- 
ment of  these  channels  may  not  result  in  the  complete  reclamation 
of,  or  immunity  from  danger  to  any  particular  piece  of  property 
which  may  be  considered,  yet  the  development  of  the  flood-carrying 
capacity  of  the  great  drains  of  the  district  will,  without  doubt,  bene- 
fit property  so  situated,  arid  render  its  reclamation  or  protectipri  a 
possible  and  far  less  expensive  work.  I  consider,  therefore,  that  all 
such  property  in  this  valley  may  well  find  place  in  the  district. 

It  has  been  said  by  the  honorable  Commissioner  of  Transportation, 
already  quoted,  that  the  river  navigation  now  controls  the  rates  of 
freight  on  the  railroads  in  Sacramento  Valley  as  far  northward  as 
Red  Bluff,  yet  the  river  is  navigable  in  its  present  condition 'only  to 
a  point  thirty-three  miles,  in  a  straight  line,  south  of  the  town  men- 
tioned, and  from  this  point  even  with  the  river  in  its  present  con- 
dition, during  the  grain  shipping  season  not  more  than  a  third  of  a 
load  can  be  brought  away  on  the  barges,  and  a  full  load  cannot  be 
carried  at  the  season  of  greatest  traffic  until  a  point  is  reached  well 
below  where  the  flood  waters  first  escape  from  the  channel  into  the 
east  basin  below  Chico  Creek. 

With  some  improvement  in  this  upper  part  of  the  river,  therefore, 
it  would  seem  that  its  navigation  would  be  a  boon  to  about  the  whole 
of  Tehama  County,  but  that  the  lands  and  property  beyond  in  Shasta 
or  Lassen  Counties  would  not  receive  any  material  benefit  from  such 
improvement.  Hence,  if  it  should  appear  that  there  is  no  necessity 
for  including  any  portion  of  the  last  mentioned  counties,  on  account 
of  the  mining  going  on  there,  they  might  well  be  left  out  of  the  district. 
•  The  Clear  Lake  and  Cache  Creek  mountain  watersheds  on  the  west, 
and  a  large  portion  of  that  of  Putah  Creek,  are  beyond  the  limits  of  the 
influence  of  the  Sacramento  River  on  their  traffic  rates,  and  either  find 
a  business  outlet  over  the  mountains  into  Napa  Valley,  or  by  a  route 
independent  of  the  river  and  not  in  competition  with  it,  direct  to  the 
Suisun  or  San  Pablo  Bays.  A  portion  of  the  plains  west  of  the  Yolo 
basin,  in  Solano  County,  and  within  the  limits  of  the  Sacramento 
drainage  area  as  heretofore  outlined,  is  also  not  within  the  limits  of  the 
influence  of  the  river  navigation  on  its  freight  transportation  rates. 

Hence,  it  would  seem  that  these  regions  too,  might  with  propriety 
be  left  out  of  the  district,  and  then  a  line  would  have  to  be  struck 


[     24    ] 

west  of  the  Yolo  basin  through  Solano  and  Yolo  counties,  keeping 
away  from  the  river  at  the  limit  of  the  influence  of  its  navigation  on 
transportation  rates. 

With  respect  to  the  region  directly  interested  in  the  prosperity  of 
the  mines  which  occasion  the  damage  sought  to  be -averted,  I  simply 
remark  that  my  studies  and  observations  have  not  revealed  any  prin- 
ciple upon  which  any  portion  of  the  mining  counties,  along  the  east 
side  of  the  Sacramento  A^alley,  whose  waters  shed  to  the  west,  can  be 
left  out  from  the  district. 

Though  an  extended  study  in  detail  migtit  possibly  show  some 
considerable  sections  of  country  which  could  be  segregated  as  being 
independent  of  mining  of -the  character  whose  life  it  is  sought  to 
prolong,  yet  it  must  be  remembered  that  the  counties  referred  to  are 
all  mining  counties,  all  largely  dependent  upon  hydraulic  mining, 
and,  from  the  point  of  view  of  the  Act  to  promote  drainage,  all  largely 
interested,  as  counties,  in  the  result  of  the  work  contemplated  under 
it — the  success  of  the  work  of  disposing  of  the  detritus  so  as  to  quiet 
the  complaints  against  mining  operations. 

CONCLUSION. 

I  have  now  submitted  a  report  embodying  the  results  of  my  special 
examinations,  concerning  the  establishment  of  drainage  districts,  up 
to  date;  have  recommended  the  formation  of  one  such  district  in  the 
Sacramento  Valley,  as  denned  in  the  law  by  which  I  am  governed ; 
and  have  pointed  out,  in  a  general  way,  how  the  district,  as  outlined 
by  the  natural  drainage  basin  of  the  Sacramento  and  its  tributaries, 
may  well  be  modified  in  its  extent  according  to  certain  equitable 
considerations  which  the  State  Drainage  Commission  may  consider, 
but  which  the  State  Engineer  could  not  take  into  account,  as  against 
the  rule  laid  down  specially  for  his  guidance  in  the  statute. 

It  should  be  borne  in  mind  that  this  is  a  report  to  date,  only,  on 
the  subject  of  establishing  drainage  districts,  and  that  as  occasion 
requires  other  districts  may  be  designated.  It  will  be  a  subject  for 
further  inquiry,  as  to  whether  or  not  a  necessity  exists  elsewhere  in 
the  State  for  the  operation  of  this  law,  and  just  what  territory  should 
constitute  a  district  in  each  case  where  the  necessity  does  exist. 
Very  respectfully  submitted, 

WM.  HAM.  HALL, 

State  Engineer. 

OFFICE  OF  THE  STATE  EXOIXF.KR,          "I 
SACRAMENTO,  May  26th,  1880.  J 


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